TV licensing authority try to collect fees from cemetery 'residents'

Thursday 30 November 2006 12:07 BST

The letter was sent to the Friends of Brompton Cemetery at South Lodge

About 225,000 people are buried in Brompton Cemetery, from Emmeline Pankhurst to Bernard Levin, and whatever the realities of the afterlife it is moderately certain that none of them spends much time watching television.

That, however, did not stop the TV licensing authority from sending the residents a threatening letter warning that they would be in line for a £1,000 fine if they do not buy a £131.50 licence.

'If you do not respond to this letter,' it reads, 'this address will be passed on to our enforcement division for further investigation.'

The letter was sent to the Friends of Brompton Cemetery at South Lodge — a two-room building used to store ivy-clearing and maintenance equipment and to sell postcards.

Its facilities include electricity and an outside tap — but no heating, no lavatory and definitely no television.

The letter was addressed to 'The Present Occupier', although as no one lives in the Lodge itself, that presumably refers to the other occupants of the cemetery, the ones watching Six Feet Under.

Or is it One Foot In The Grave? One of the Friends, Verité Reily Collins, has a theory as to why the west London cemetery was targeted. 'Perhaps they are going to bring back Spooks.'

Beatrix Potter is said to have taken the names of several characters from headstones — there are inscriptions for Mr Nutkins, Mr McGregor, Jeremiah Fisher, Tommy Brock and even a Peter Rabbett.

A spokesman for TV Licensing said: 'We have a database of more than 28 million addresses which is constantly being revised and updated. We will look into this particular inquiry and ensure that our records are updated appropriately.'